Speech by Vikas Rambal, Chairman and Managing Director, Perdaman Industries. Estimated time: Approx 9-10 minutes (1340 words)

Transcription

1 Australia India Institute Australia India Skills Conference Dinner 10 July Speech by Vikas Rambal, Chairman and Managing Director, Perdaman Industries Estimated time: Approx 9-10 minutes (1340 words) Good evening ladies and gentleman. It is an honour to be your keynote speaker tonight. I would particularly like to welcome my Indian colleagues here tonight. As my speaking time is brief I will make my comments direct and to the point. So rest assured, it will not be too long before you can return to your conversations with old and new friends. Hopefully I will give you something to talk about. For those who don t know me, let me briefly introduce myself. I was born, raised, educated and trained in India. I have been living in Perth with my family for more than a decade. My wife and I are proud to call Australia home. We are raising two Indian Australian boys who love and appreciate two different countries and two different cultures.

2 During my time in Western Australia I have achieved a lot. I have learned even more. I have been deeply involved in two major industrial developments in this State. The first was the successful establishment of the world s largest ammonia plant, at the time it was constructed, on the Burrup Peninsula. The ammonia plant combined Indian technical skills and Australian resources to create a new industry here. The second development is my current project to build a $3.5 billion urea plant at Collie, 200 kilometres south of here. If you are not familiar with urea, don t worry you will not be the only person in this room. Urea is the world s most commonly used fertiliser. Its nitrogen content makes it vital to food production. It is essential to increasing crop yields in heavily populated countries like India. In simple terms, the Collie urea plant will turn coal into fertiliser. This project is also combining Indian skills and know-how with Australian natural resources to create a new industry for this State. These projects have given me opportunities to work within Australia s entrepreneurial culture. It has shown me that in this country a lot can be achieved by talented and skilled people who are willing to work hard, invest and take well-calculated business risks.

3 I have also learned that Australia is not India. And India is not Australia. It has taken me more than 10 years of working in Australia to develop a deep understanding of the local culture. When I say culture I am using the term to cover my interactions with the business sector, Government and the broader community. The skills I require to be successful in Australia have had to be learned each day at a time because they are largely cultural and not technical. This is an important point for you to bear in mind as you discuss how to collaborate on skills and training opportunities. The links between India and Australia are obvious. Both nations face each other across the Indian Ocean. There is a common commercial language. Both are democracies where people are free to make choices and express their opinions. Each nation occupies a substantial landmass with many natural resources. There are also similarities in our legal and political structures, so that each system is recognisable to the other. There would appear to be many opportunities to significantly expand the educational, training and skills links between our nations. To unlock these opportunities we must not only embrace the similarities, but learn to bridge our differences. We certainly must not be blind to our differences, because there are many of them and they are important.

4 These differences are easier to understand and appreciate if you have lived and worked in both countries. So, if you will allow me some latitude, I will provide some very simple examples. All countries have rules or they cannot function effectively. There are many rules in India and there are even more in Australia. In Australia there are dozens of rules and regulations relating to safety when developing or constructing any project. In India, there are fewer rules, they are less formal, less regulated and often very different. Similarly, in Australia there are many rules, regulations and wellestablished processes for employing people. These have been formed over many years and reflect a particular set of values. Again in India, the rules, systems and structures are very different. They are informed by a different history and a different set of values. Australia has a system of Local Government that contains a wide range of rules and regulations about issues such as noise, streetscape and rubbish. If you have been to cities like Delhi you will have realised that the average Indian s daily life is not complicated by Local Government bylaws. In the simplest terms I would say that there is more freedom for individuals in India than in Australia. It is not possible to say one approach is right and the other wrong.

5 The fact that Australia has a law for something does not mean its society is better. The fact that India does not have a law for the same thing does not make it a lesser place. However, in my experience, you cannot put a person trained in one culture into another and expect them to be immediately effective and successful. I m an educated, successful and well-resourced individual. I have access to the best professionals and advisers in Australia. Even I have struggled over the years to understand some of the rules, processes and cultural differences in this country. The average Indian, especially an unskilled one, does not know what to make of many of the laws and regulations that they may be taught by an Australian institution. They will not immediately understand why they are required to follow a range of rules if they are working in Australia. So, as you plan greater collaboration on training and skills, I make this simple request. Please think very carefully about the young people involved. Think about an Indian student or trainee and his or her potential experiences in Australia or within an Australian college. Think carefully about how an Australian teacher will effectively instruct and guide people in or from India.

6 The Indian placed in an Australian system struggles to understand all the rules and whether he or she has to learn them all. The Australian teaching in India struggles to understand the system when familiar rules aren t easy to identify or don t exist. Do not overlook the importance of the cultural element of what you would like to achieve. Demand for education and skills training will create opportunities for Australians in India. Demand for skilled labour will create opportunities for Indians in Australia. However, it is giving individuals the ability to understand each other s environment that will turn these opportunities into a success for our nations. For many years I have been hearing and reading that India is the next big market for Australian products and services after China. I do not believe this is a foregone conclusion. These types of comments are often based on lazy analysis. People look at the size of India s population and assume that our shared heritage make it a natural market for Australia. But successful skills collaboration is not as straightforward as shipping raw materials to steel mills in China. If our exports to India are going to be more education, skills and training this will require vision, effort, patience and deep understanding on both sides.

7 I have no doubt that we can all effectively share our technical skills and create the programs to do this. However, my experience in Australia tells me one thing - if we want to increase skills training and the transfer of people between India and Australia then the cultural component is essential. Educational institutions, businesses and Government must all play their role in ensuring individual Australians and Indians gain not only just skills, but a better understanding of each other. You all have an important role to play in this process I thank you for listening and wish you well in all your efforts.